Haven't had time to read much on here, so pardon any duplicate comments...

Wow = Rick's coaching adjustment. As Jay's_Dad@Section222 just called to remind me, Ben can't just play "goalie" against this frontcourt. He's got to guard somebody, and he's not nearly effective when he has to guard either Ron, Jermaine or Austin straight-up. And that opens up the paint for everyone else. Brilliant.

(Too bad the original PD is dead, because I'd like to 'bump' my preseason post when everyone said Pollard would be the starting center and I suggested a starting frontcourt of Artest on the wing at SF, Croshere on the baseline at PF and O'Neal in the paint at C provided the best offensive spacing.)

Wow = JO's toughness and resilience after hyper-extending his knee. A true leader and warrior. I've taken this off my sig but I :love: JO.

Wow = Ron's return to 'team' play. And his shot. But most importantly, since in spite of all Ron's muscle, he isn't a very good rebounder, so he gets a major Wow for his effort on the glass. I think he had six rebounds in the first quarter, and that set the tone for the game as much as the better spacing provided by Croshere.

Wow = Jamaal's grit and hustle despite a badly banged up left leg. As long as he's on the court, he's giving 100%.

Wow = Ron's halftime interview. He was really struggling to find something witty to say. I think he wanted to say, "Nobody can stop me, nobody can score on me, Jermaine and I are the two best players in this series, and everyone is so happy with how I've cleaned up my act that David Stern and George Bush just called to see if I was free this summer because they'd like to send me to the Middle East as a peace ambassador."

Lastly, kudo's to Foster to understand his demotion is probably just temporary, but its clearly right decision. He was enthusiastically cheering for his team when he could've been pouting.

I'm excited about this series. I love watching the Pacers grow up like this.

bulletproof

05-29-2004, 12:08 PM

This is the reason why I come to these boards after a game. Great post, Jay.

MSA2CF

05-29-2004, 12:45 PM

I'm excited about this series. I love watching the Pacers grow up like this.